. good morning, everyone. welcome to cnn this morning. it s december 31st. yes, it s the last day of the year. happy new year s eve to you, martin. happy new year s eve to you as well, amara. thank you. we are, of course, following breaking news this morning. pope benedict emeritus has died. pope francis had been asking for prayers. for the firstet time in modern history he resigned in 2013, citing advanced age, which paved the way for pope francis to head the church. cnn s delia gallagher with more. reporter: in many respects, benedict xvi was the pope who got a bad rap. nearly 24 years as pope john paul ii eternal enforcer and the german chancellor lived in the shadows of hitler s regime, referred as god s rottweiler. years of anything tev publicity caused many of his accomplishments to go unnoticed. he was the first pope to go green, making the vatican the first country in the world with a zero carbon footprint, putting solar panels on its rooftops, and bringing
one! well, those aussies, they know how to do their fireworks. they do. too right, as they say. beautiful. yeah, sydney harbour there with the glow. kind of looks like my neighbor s house. i m sure. here s another plus, down there in australia, they are just kicking off summer, so ga-day. welcome to 2023. do you have any big plans tonight? no. it s 12:01, quick cheers and good night, everybody. us, too. cnn this morning continues now. and good morning. it is saturday, december 31st, here in the u.s. we ve still got a bit of time left in this year, happy new year s eve. thanks for waking up with us. i m martin savidge in for boris sanchez. glad to be with you, martin. i m amara walker. thank you so much for joining us. we began this morning with breaking news and sad news to end the year. pope emeritus benedict has died. his health had deteriorated over the last several days prompting pope francis to ask for prayers. for the
news out of the vatican. the former pope emeritus benedict has died at the age of 95. with sorrow, we inform you that the pope emeritus benedict xvi passed away, today, this morning, at 9:34 in the mater echess yamon tia mona stare. he was the first pope to resign, rather than stay in office for life. he was a controversial at times member of church. let s go to barbie nadeau in st. peter s square right now. barbie, i m curious, there were a lot of people already in the square and then the news breaks. so what s the reaction? what are people talking about there? reporter: yeah, you know, it s a mixed reaction, because a lot some people didn t know. some people here in rome enjoying a day. the square is empty behind us right now, they re doing a security check because pope francis is going to be coming out here in the next hour or so to visit the nativity scene there. we ve got a lot of pilgrims pushed off the square. they re coming back. but the mood is very solemn.
we are watching several stories developing at this hour. it s a moment of sadness for millions of catholics around the world. pope emeritus benedict xvi has died at the age of 95. the former pontiff passing away after what the church calls a period of ill health. benedict was the first pope to resign as the leader of the church this nearly 600 years, stepping down in 2013. also this morning, mourning the loss of a tv legend. good evening, i m hugh downs. i m barbara walters and this is 20/20. trailblazing tv news anchor barbara walters has died, known for her insightful, tough interviews. she became the first female anchor of a network evening news program and paved the way for women in broadcasting. a spokesperson says she passed away surrounded by family at the age of 93. but there are also celebrations this hour. the world welcomes in a new year. several nations already celebrating as the clock strikes midnight ushering the start of 2023. right now live pics you ar
germany s chancellor saying they don t want to make such a bold move alone and calling on others including the u.s. to do the same. and this is the strategy we have, that we are strategically interlocked, together with our friends and partners, that we are never doing something just by ourselves but together with others, especially the united states. reporter: that german resistance straining the nato alliance when they have acted largely in unison for the past year of this war and frustrating ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. translator: do not hesitate. there is no need to compare. if you say i will give tanks if someone else also give tanks or i am powerful in europe but i will help if someone else outside of europe also helps. it seems to me that this is not a very correct strategy. reporter: ukraine s defense ministry putting out a lighthearted video appeal. the american m-1 abrams tanks, u.s. officials say, is too heavy, too complicated, too hard to m